4 Years, No Suspect: Pine Tree Poisonings Baffle Police In NorCal

LAKE TAHOE, CA — For the last four years, one peculiar case has stumped the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office: the poisoning of several trees at a Lake Tahoe beach.

Deputies say someone's been intentionally poisoning the trees at Burnt Cedar Beach since 2022.

It's unclear why someone would poison the trees. On several occasions over the years, deputies said they've found an unknown substance poured around the bases of the trees or placed into holes drilled near the roots.

The latest incidents happened over the last two weeks, deputies said.

Deputies responded to the beach on Friday, July 24, after someone reported a strong odor emanating from the base of a large pine tree, according to the Washoe County Sheriff’s Office.

Authorities collected soil samples and noticed the odor was the same as past tree poisonings, deputies said.

The trees were again poisoned sometime between 11:30 a.m. on Aug. 1 and 5 a.m. on Aug 2, deputies said, adding that a trail camera captured a light in the area around 2 a.m.

No suspects have been identified. The Washoe County Sheriff’s Office called the poisonings "deeply troubling" and said that the loss of the trees significantly impacts the entire community.

"We are taking these repeated incidents seriously and asking anyone with information to come forward so the person responsible can be identified and held accountable," Sheriff Darin Balaam said in a statement on Monday.

The Washoe County Sheriff’s Office is seeking the public's help in identifying a suspect and asks that anyone who witnessed suspicious activity at Burnt Cedar Beach between August 1 and August 2 contact the agency at 775-328 –3001 and reference case number 26-4225.

Anonymous tips can also be submitted at 775-322-4900, according to the department.